Surveillance systems have been used for SWAT, bomb squad, military operators, and civilians for many years. Numerous innovations have been made for individual components over the past decade. For examples, US 2009/0175032 A9 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,581,852 B2 developed telescopic lens with enhanced searching capability. Most of the inventions in the subject of portable surveillance systems are focused on camera and viewing capability enhancement. Some inventions with the term “portable” may include apparatus that can be carried by vans or small trucks. Some compact surveillance systems are mounted on the exterior of buildings, walls, furniture; and small articles like phones, pictures. Since they are stationary weight is not a concern.
Both weight and size of the surveillance system are very important for SWAT, bomb squad, and military operations. Portable surveillance systems are used by these agencies to observe objects and activities in locations that are not conveniently observed without the use of specialized devices. Without exposing the user, the surveillance system allows the user to observe objects and activities around corners, inside of a room, outside of a room, or into the second story or basement of a building through a window from the ground level. Soldiers may use a portable surveillance systems in urban warfare. For civilian applications, animal controllers use surveillance systems to observe animals in a hole, cave, attic, tunnel, or on a roof. Miners use a surveillance system to examine the integrity and safety of a cave and wall before entering. Civilians may use surveillance systems to inspect damage to the roof or other part of a building that may be unsafe to approach. For most of these applications weight and compactness are desirable features of any portable surveillance system.
Currently, the most commonly surveillance system used by law enforcement officers and soldiers involved in urban warfare are back mounted and chest mounted systems. Both systems include a LCD display (monitor) and batteries in a carrier, and a pole camera connected to the display by electrical wires. These back mounted surveillance system generally require two people to use. In such applications, the person carrying the surveillance system is required to hold a gun in his/her hand while the person behind carrier observes a monitor and lets the carrier know what he/she sees. Such systems are inconvenient for soldiers to use in the battlefield. Since SWAT, bomb squad and military operations all involve with rapid movement there is a concern that electrical wires may cause entanglement. For bomb squad applications, the pole camera must have sufficient length (over 12-ft) for safety reason.
Thus, there remains a need for a compact single man portable and useable surveillance system that eliminates or greatly curtails these shortcomings of currently available so-called “portable” surveillance systems.